The present invention disclosed herein relates to an apparatus and method for producing carbon nanotubes, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for producing carbon nanotubes through circulating metal catalyst particles.
Carbon nanotubes are produced by bonding three adjacent carbon atoms to form a flat carbon surface latticed in a hexagonal, beehive shape, and then rolling the flat carbon surface into a cylindrical tube.
Depending on its method of projection, a carbon nanotube exhibits conductivity of metal or conductivity of semiconductors, is widely applicable in many technical fields, and is being heralded as the new material of the future. For example, carbon nanotubes can be applied to terminals of electrochemical storage devices such as secondary cells, fuel cells, and super capacitors, to electromagnetic radiation blocking devices, field emission displays, and gas sensors.
Carbon nanotubes are produced by dispersing metal catalyst particles and a hydrocarbon-based gas into a high-temperature reactor to generate a reaction. Specifically, an apparatus for producing carbon nanotubes includes a reactor, a nozzle provided inside the reactor to provide metal catalysts, and a dispersion plate provided inside the reactor to disperse carbonic gas.
The dispersion plate is provided below the nozzle, and has a plurality of holes through which gas is suctioned or discharged. Metal catalysts supplied from the nozzle are suspended in the reactor by gas supplied through the dispersion plate, and react with carbon in the gas to grow nanotubes.
As such, because the nozzle is provided inside the reactor of an apparatus for producing carbon nanotubes, the nozzle can hinder circulation of metal catalysts, and metal catalysts can amass on the nozzle, so that metal catalysts are lost. Also, because the dispersion plate is provided below the nozzle, and gas is discharged onto from the dispersion plate without a specific direction, metal deposits can be stacked on the top surface of the dispersion plate to induce channeling. Furthermore, a gas wind box for evenly distributing gas across the plurality of holes in the dispersion plate, and a heater for decomposition of gas must further be provided on the dispersion plate. Therefore space utilization is diminished.